Three Misfits and a Baby
by MethLabrador
Summary: Kitty has her hands full with a toddler, a sarky Djinn and an infuriating magician. An unlikely alliance leads to rebellion, adventure, drama and the biggest challenge any of them could have ever predicted: parenthood. Sort of fluff sort of drama. BxK NxK BxN it's all good.
1. Chapter 1

This fic is set at the beginning of Ptolemy's Gate. The details of Kitty's life are different than the book, and will be explained in this chapter.  
>I really, really hope you enjoy this story!<p>

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Kitty could not believe the scene that was enfolding before her. Night police swarmed the old factory floor like angry wasps. Werewolves, men and spirits in the guises of men charged into every corner, sniffing out rebels to imprison or, more likely, to kill without trial.

A friend was struck down by one of the vicious wolves as she tried to escape through the back window. It gripped her thigh with the force of a bear trap, pulling her to the ground where it sank its teeth into her throat. Twelve or so new resistance members were in the room, hurtling silver disks and cheap inferno sticks whilst scanning desperately for escape routes.

The screams, howls and explosions of silver and fire went past Kitty; all she hear was the crying of an infant. She saw the child, curled up and sobbing in-between two mouldering cardboard boxes in the far corner of the room.

Before Kitty had a chance to rescue him, a detonation was fired at his hiding spot.

Holding her breath and praying that his resilience would hold out, she watched from the shadows of the building next-door. A crack in the brickwork allowed her to survey the hideout without detection. Kitty had come back late from her part-time job with Mr Button, and as soon as she heard the commotion, she had hidden herself away. Many of the members who usually congregated here were absent as well, Kitty hoped they had heard the noises and fled to safety.

The green vapours dispersed, leaving the child exactly as before. Kitty sagged in relief. If she could just get round the back of the building to the ventilation tunnel, she could crawl through it, sprint in, grab the toddler and be off.

Seven of her comrades had been killed; the remaining five were being led from the building with handcuffs and knives to their backs, their faces were blank with shock and disbelief. Kitty could be sure that she would never see any of them again. Swallowing hard, she looked back to the infant.

The spirit who had fired the detonation cocked his head to the side in confusion, before firing a more powerful blast at the child. Several of the policemen and werewolves to turned to watch. Three other spirits added to the detonation, causing the building to shake at its foundations. As the smoke cleared, the child was exactly as before. Crying and hugging its knees, looking up at the foes that surrounded it in fear.  
>The demons exchanged uncertain glances.<p>

"'Ere chief, you might wanna take a look at this." One of the demons called, looking over his shoulder.

A massive werewolf who had been by the door, surveying the prisoners' procession to the vans turned its shaggy grey, blood stained head.

"What?" It snapped.

"This here kid's got some proper resilience goin' on. We can't kill it."

The wolf padded over, causing the small semi-circle to part. Kitty's heart raced as the beast approached the child, she knew he couldn't he harmed by magic or lesser physical injuries – but he was defenceless against the glistening fangs that shone from the wolf's mouth. It snarled as it stood in front of the small boy, who cowered beneath his hateful glare.

"Take it to internal affairs; no doubt they'll be interested in its resilience. Besides, what fun is there in mauling something so pathetic?"

Again Kitty sagged with relief. For now, the boy was safe from death at least. She could get him back from the ministry, but she doubted her ability to retrieve the child from the depths of the police chief's stomach. Shuddering, she continued to watch the scene, straining her ears for any details on where the boy would be taken.

The large wolf stalked off towards the exit, barking further commands at the policemen outside. The demon who'd first fired the detonation picked up the crying boy with obvious disgust. Unsure of how to hold him, he first held him by the feet, but the wailing was too much. A human policeman took the toddler with a roll of his eyes and put him on his hip in the appropriate manner. Conversing about the awful noise, they departed, leaving the destroyed hideout in their wake.

Creeping to the nearest window, she watched with a vice around her heart as the vans departed into the night. Already planning her rescue mission, Kitty exited the building to find her allies.

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Three years ago, Kitty's life changed forever when she had found out she was pregnant.

Knowing that her baby was conceived without her consent, with a mother who was wanted by the government and with the prospect of a miserable life ahead of it, filled with nothing but danger and oppression under the magicians hand had almost been enough for Kitty to end the baby's life before it had even begun.

But she didn't.

Why?

To this day Kitty doesn't know why she went through with it. She had been living alone in a miserable little flat, with a measly amount of money and a scraping of rebellious friends that she didn't thoroughly trust. She was sixteen and a single mother with a criminal record and more enemies than she could count. It was hardly a stable environment to raise a child in.

Nonetheless, she had somehow, against all the odds stacked against her, raised her child to the grand age of two and a half. It had been the most difficult time of her life, but she didn't regret her decision.

She had found out that her little boy was resilient when he was only a year old. She had left him with a resistance equivalent of a 'babysitter' in a shabby hideout in the east end. Whilst she was out working at the Frog Inn, there had been an attack. When Kitty returned, the building was empty of life, but, digging through the rubble with the franticness only a mother would know, she found her baby was there, completely unharmed and gazing up at her.

Blessed with the strongest magical and physical resilience on record, she had a feeling in her gut that her baby boy had a destiny to fulfil.

The conversation with Bartimaeus three years previous on the night of the Golem attacks had got her thinking. With the next generation growing up more resistant to magic attack, perhaps children like her son would be the ones to topple the government when they themselves turned into adolescents. She prayed that this was the case. With unrest in the streets and across the empire – it was only a matter of time.

The last few months of her pregnancy had been the hardest, living off all her reserves and even resorting to stealing. When the boy was about a month old, she joined an underground resistance group, claiming she'd found the child abandoned, Kitty integrated the baby into the new underground resistance easily. Women cooed over him, the men were jealous of his unheard of resilience and children peered down their dirty noses at him, seeing nothing special about a chubby baby who couldn't stop gurgling.

Working part time for Mr Button, she learned great deals about magic, which she then relayed onto fellow rebels, acting as a teacher and an expert on resilience. Many people knew of her previous experience involving the raiding of Gladstone's tomb, and let her off any truly dangerous activities. Leaving her baby with resistance members on a frequent basis hadn't been ideal for Kitty, but she had no choice if she was to earn any money. She had made a few true friends, and since then, she had started to feel a little more optimistic about the demise of the magicians again.

Fear was rife in London, but so was hope – something that could never truly be squashed out of the people.

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Wow, apologies for all that information! I just didn't want any confusion in the later parts of the fic :)  
>The next chapter will set the story in motion!<br>Please please follow this story or drop a quick review, it keeps me motivated.


	2. Chapter 2

"What, dare I ask, is that _thing_?"

Rebecca Piper had just entered Mr Mandrake's study with a wriggling baby in her arms. She looked dishevelled, with several loops of mousey brown hair having been playfully pulled from her tight bun. Her glasses were wonky on her thin nose and she was slightly out of breath from trying to restrain the infant. Mandrake tapped his foot impatiently.

"It's a baby Sir."

"I know it's a baby Piper! I mean what is it doing _here_?"

"It's-"

"If it's a bring your relative to work day or whatever then I must ask you to remove it." He cut her off, writing some notes down and glancing at his watch. "This is an office _not_ a playroom."

"Sir-"

"And whilst you remove it can you please get some air freshener? I don't want any lingering smells."

"Sir!" Piper raised her voice, exasperated at his arrogant manner. "This baby arrived this morning. Apparently he was found at a new resistance hideout. He is, according to the police, resilient to all forms of magic attack at all levels of intensity."

"Really?" This had caught his attention somewhat. The war propaganda notes lay momentarily forgotten as he laid his cold, calculating eyes on the squirming child. "Maybe if we found out more about his resilience, we could find a way to stop it spreading around the commoners before this all gets out of hand..."

"Yes precisely." Piper confirmed. Mandrake nodded, his mind already racing on the possibilities. "That is why the chief of police has entrusted him into your care for the time being-"

"She WHAT?"

"As head of internal affairs she thought the position should naturally fall to yo-"

"Tell Fararr my house is not a bloody nursery! It can stay somewhere else!" he all but roared, gesturing wildly as he interrupted poor Piper once again. "What is it with people harassing me? Don't they give me enough to do as it is?!"

Piper waited until his anger had dwelled down to indistinct curses under his breath before continuing.

"Perhaps if I may make a suggestion Sir?" She took his moody silence as a yes. "Why not entrust a demon to look after it instead?"

Mandrake's scoffed haughty in objection, but then a thought occurred to him. An unsettling smirk stretched across his face.

"I know the perfect demon for the job."

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The pentangle filled with shimmering clouds of pink smoke, before the slender figure of Kitty Jones appeared within. Shoving her hands on her hips she set Nathaniel a look that could curdle milk.

"What do you want now Nat? Unless it's an immediate dismissal I don't even want to hear it."

Unsettled by the djinn's guise for what had to be the millionth time, Nathaniel averted his eyes from her overly curvy body and stared into Bartimaeus' eyes. They were the only things in his whole damn life that ever stayed constant. Although the djinn riled him beyond all measure, there was an odd comfort in it.

Clearing his throat, Nathaniel spoke to the worn-out djinn.

"I charge you to-"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" The djinn held up a hand. "Hold the mustard buddy. You can't just give me more charges – have you seen the state I'm in?" he gestured down the curves of Kitty's body, where the lines of his form were shimmery and semi-transparent. "I need to go home. Now. No more excuses."

"Bartimaeus listen-"

"Do you still not get it? I am going to DIE if I have to go on any more stupid missions of yours!"

"It's not-"

"Three years spent on this rotten planet! No djinn should ever have to deal with this sort of barbaric enslavement!" the demon wailed, lost in it's grief. Nathaniel lost his patience with him.

"Will you shut up and let me talk?!" Nathaniel stamped his foot like a two year old.

"Fine."

Taking a moment to breathe, the magician cleared his head. Bartimaeus wasn't going to like this task, but, compared to war in America or fighting in the streets – at least this was relatively low effort right? There was little chance of death, even in his feebled state, wasn't there? The image of the baby overpowering and throttling Bartimaeus briefly crossed his mind.

"I need you to act as a nanny."

"Excuse me?"

"It won't be for long, and there's no chance of death." The young man hastily added, wishing for the djinn to just accept his charge and get on with it. How hard could it be?

"Mate the way I'm in, I'm sure a newborn baby's pinky toe would be able to put me into a coma."

Nathaniel frowned and ran an anxious hand through his hair, knowing that half of Bartimaeus' personality seemed to revolve around excessive exaggeration. He wanted to give him a rest, but paranoia and an emotion he didn't understand kept him from doing so. Just one more task, then he'd consider the djinni's pleads. Although he was weak, surely he would be capable of such an easy task?

"All you have to do is entertain the child, tend to its biological needs" at this the djinni grimaced, "and make sure it goes to sleep while it's in this house. A woman from the ministry will collect the baby from here every morning and drop it off in the evening, so you won't have much work on your hands...Besides, if you do this menial task, you will be free from enlistment into the army in America..."

This struck a chord; the djinn looked like it was mulling it all over in its mind. After a moment, Bartimaeus let out a resigned sigh and slowly nodded.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"What choice did I ever have anyway?"

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The child's makeshift 'room' by the afternoon consisted of a cheap cot shoved into Nathaniel's guest bedroom. It had never been used until now, and for once he was glad it existed. Feeling vaguely sorry for the toddler's lack of entertainment in the plainly furnished room, the magician had ordered an imp to get some toys on its daily errands.

One cuddly toy rabbit, a red plastic truck and a weird looking dinosaur were added to the room by nightfall.

Curled up in bed with his pillow firmly placed over his ears, the magician tried to sleep over the hollering racket coming from the child's room upstairs. Didn't that damn djinni know how to put it to sleep?! It couldn't be that hard, surely.

Grumbling and cursing under his breath yet again, Nathaniel buried himself deeper within the covers. The things he did for this ungrateful country.

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	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter was so fun to write you have no idea :D  
>Thank you Nemaides for the review! The baby is fine, as you will soon see...<strong>

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Never in my highly accomplished career have I stooped so low. And by low, I really mean low. Trying not to cry from the toxic odour, I lowered the used nappy into the bin, holding it out in front of me like a grenade about to explode. The remnants of the nappy that hadn't been burnt or turned to ash by the sheer force of the poop detonation were safely disposed of, and I could then breathe a sigh of relief. It had only been an hour since I had been entrusted with the child – and I had already nearly died. My essence was so fragile, the ungodly stench alone had nearly been enough to finish me off.

If any of the other spirits found out about this, my esteemed reputation as a noble, honoured and highly respected djinn would be shot to shreds. Grimacing at the thought of Faquarl's potential jests, I poured sanitiser onto my hands and up my arms (best to be safe).

The child on the changing mat gurgled to itself, completely unaffected by the monstrosity that just passed through its digestive system. It was fat and small and unbearably reticent. There wasn't even a chance for a proper conversation whilst I was stuck with it – unless I wanted to communicate through occasional mumbled words, weird noises, and burps (as if, I got enough of that with Nathaniel). Usually if I was stuck being someone's guard or carer or whatever I was being, there was at least the prospect of a good chin wag. But with this one...well let's just say he was a little clammed up.

"Aren't you meant to use the toilet by your age?"

"Ba."

"How old are you anyway? Two? Three?"

"Wha."

"Such eloquence."

Watching me with big brown eyes as I drew nearer, the little boy continued to gurgle and give the odd word, his favourite one seemed to be "what". Which I admit was a little funny.

After completing the horrendous nappy routine, I placed him on the floor of Mandrake's not-so-swanky-anymore guest room come nursery. With a bit of a struggle, he stood up and waddled over to his toys. My charge was to entertain him, tend to his biological needs and get him to sleep. I had already dealt with the biological one, which had been one of the most disgusting and terrifying events of my life, now for the other two. I didn't feel very optimistic I must say, especially how that little twit had described it as not having 'too much work on your hands'. If that wasn't work, on and all over my hands quite literally, then I dreaded to think what the other charges might bring. I anticipated anything more vigorous than nappy changing would probably kill me. What a way to go.

"Wha?" he asked as he played with a little red truck and a dinosaur toy. "Wha? Wha?"

I sat cross-legged on the floor next to the small human, still in my guise of Ptolemy. Resting my head in my hands, I watched him play with an expression of pure boredom on my Egyptian face. What could possibly be so entertaining about smashing a truck into a dinosaur's backside anyway?

"Fa, brum brum." He said in a very serious voice, continuing to run the dinosaur over with the truck. I suppressed a yawn as my thoughts began to drift. Maybe this part wouldn't be that hard? The kid seemed to be entertaining himself quite well... I thought back to the babies I saw in the Egyptian marketplaces. They gurgled and did weird things, I guess they're not even that different. It's so weird to think that all humans, no matter how grand and pompous they seem, all started off as some fat, stinky baby. I briefly wondered what kind of horrid, snotty-nosed toddler Nathaniel must have been.

I was rudely woken from my djinni-nap when a toy rabbit was thrust into my face.

"What?" I asked, cracking open an eye to survey the toddler below.

"Wha?" he replied in the exact same way. Smirking, I shifted form into a brown hare just to liven things up (I was going to become a white fluffy rabbit to match his toy but I'd already had enough of humiliating myself for one day. Besides, what if Nathaniel came in?)

The toddler stared wide-eyed in fascination, before reaching out to touch the fur on my back. I let it briefly pat it before it started to yank a little too hard.

"Hey! Watch the fur." I hopped away, and soon I was being chased around the room by the waddling tot. How embarrassing. Hopefully if I kept going it would get tired and fall asleep, then my third task would take care of itself right?

After about five minutes of running around the child stamped his feet and began to cry which quickly escalated to screaming, his little face turning pink with exertion. He looked exactly the same as Nathaniel when he didn't get his way. After admiring the comparison, I hopped over and allowed myself to be petted. But the kid wasn't having it.

Covering my long ears with small paws, I began to panic – how do you calm a toddler? He wasn't going to fall asleep like this! I changed guises, first a cute little dog, then a fluffy kitten, then in desperation – a hamster. But alas it was to no avail.

Switching back to Ptolemy, I picked up the screaming child with some difficulty. My essence was aching from the changes and my poor ears were throbbing from the screeching infant. It struggled in my arms, kicking its little feet into my stomach. If I had been my usual strength, I would have knocked it out in a second with a bang on the head – asleep in a second, easy-peasy, squeeze the lemon. But in such a feeble state I could barely hold the thing when it struggled so valiantly. My only comfort was that Nathaniel was probably being kept awake downstairs with all the noise.

I tried singing to it, making funny faces, playing with the rabbit in front of it – nothing worked. The crying was beginning to make my head spin.

"Shut the hell up!" a muffled and distinctly angry voice shouted from downstairs. (How rude was that? I had half the mind to dump the baby in his bed and leave it to him.)

"What do you think I'm trying to make it do?!" I hollered back, making the toddler even more upset.

The racket at this point was unbearable. In a last bid of hope, I changed into a human woman. The Egyptian boy transformed in front of the child into a dark haired, slender girl dressed in jeans and a baggy top. Specifically – Kitty Jones.

The result was immediate.

Instantly he calmed to silence, and, smiling like a sweet cherub, stretched his arms out for a hug, his little fingers wriggling. I gladly complied, hugging the docile boy to me (but avoiding his snotty nose) and gently singing it to sleep. What a result!

Gently placing the snoozing child into the crib, I placed the provided blanket over him. The poor thing didn't even have pyjamas. He was still wearing the grubby jumper and jeans that he was brought in with. I supposed if it wasn't essential then Mandrake the bonehead wasn't going to go out of his way to look after it.

I suppose by human standards he looked sort of okay – blondish curls with brown eyes, a pale chubby face and small limbs that never seemed properly synchronised with the rest of his body. Since spirits are born the way we are now, there's no such thing as babies or childhoods, it was a strange thing to see. The vulnerability and utter helplessness of him was something I'd never experienced, even when I had my very first summons.

This was a weird situation to be frank, but I found myself not hating it as much as I'd thought. When he wasn't crying or pooping, he was an alright kid. I hoped that Nathaniel wasn't about to ruin his life.

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**Thanks for reading, please follow or post a review! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the review Sky Blue Dragon, and to the anons! Enjoy this chapter and please follow or review if you liked it :) **

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**Nathaniel**

Early September sunshine filtered lazily through white silk curtains, casting its light onto the three awkward figures at the dining table. Two prodded at their breakfasts, the other lazily flicked invisible crumbs across the polished wooden tabletop. Nathaniel had tried to escape eating with them, to the extent where he'd got ready half an hour before – but the housemaid had prepared both meals for exactly 8 o'clock, and placed them both on the one table, in his one dining room. Previously only used by himself.

The child stared at Nathaniel, munching on a slice of toast. Nathaniel stared at the child, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Why does is it keep staring at me?"

"It's a _he_."

"Whatever." He spat, spearing another piece of bacon and peering through dark locks at his first ever dinner guest with great suspicion.

Barely able to reach his food in the adult chair, the child babbled something incoherent to the demon on his left.

"What is he saying now?" Nathaniel asked, a hint of genuine interest lacing his annoyed tone.

"He says he needs a proper chair so he can reach his food. He also says this egg is overdone and the toast is a little on the dry side."

The magician pursed his lips. "I don't think you're a very creditable translator."

The demon shrugged. "Think what you like, that's what he told me."

Mumbling to himself, the magician took a gulp of tea, watching his new charge. Bartimaeus handed another slice of toast to the toddler, who eagerly sank his milk teeth into the buttery bread. Munching appreciatively, he went back to his new favourite activity – staring at Nathaniel in silent interest.

"His gaze is unnerving."

"He's probably trying to figure out your weaknesses, so he can embarrass you later today." The djinn rested his head in his palms, his face looking weary. Nathaniel briefly wondered if he was being too harsh keeping him here when a human could replace his duties, but he quickly shook the thought away.

"I told you, I won't be seeing him at all at work. Other departments are dealing with the new resistance problems alongside security. I'm the information minister, I'm meant to be working on propaganda – not hanging around some dribbly baby." He placed his knife and fork neatly in the centre of the plate. "Fararr is pushing her luck dumping him with me; I should file a case against this whole thing. I've been invaded in my own home."

Bartimaeus yawned. "Whatever."

"Whaber." The boy repeated.

The Egyptian boy half smiled, patting him on the head. Evidently the djinn has been teaching the boy to disrespect those of authority, Nathaniel thought wryly. A rebel with his sort of powers could do great damage when older. Better get some respect into his head now while he doesn't know any different. Nathaniel made a mental note to teach the child the virtues of authority at some point before he was corrupted any further.

"I'm leaving now. Remember the woman comes to collect him at 8.30, and will deliver him back for 4.30," he stood and cast them a look like a disapproving mother. "Don't get up to trouble whilst I'm gone. In fact – I charge you to stay within this house, to continue looking after the child whilst it is here, and to restrain from any activity which is deemed disruptive, destructive or otherwise unruly by human standards – oh, and no prank calls to _anyone_ this time."

Bartimaeus gave a half-hearted salute. Straightening his tie, Mr Mandrake strode from the room, his mind already focused on the back-breaking amount of work he had for the day ahead.

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The black state car moved slowly through the evening rush-hour traffic. The street lights of London beamed smears of gold onto the shiny exterior of the vehicle as it rolled past. Its dark tinted windows concealed a chauffeur and a brooding magician within.

Nathaniel slouched unceremoniously in the back seat, half-heartedly reading through a report and annotating where necessary.

It had been a usual day at work for the magician, and he was sick of it. The pressure of his workload left him exhausted. The constant social somersaulting made his head spin and the pressure of his superiors was slowly starting to drive him mad. More than ever before, Mandrake's enthusiasm for government was wearing thin. The golden days seemed to be over, nothing but bad news filled his endless reports. Djinni died in waves in America, enemy spies swarmed the city, and the empire was crumbling beneath his feet. Riots and unrest plagued London with an alarming growing intensity.

And there was nothing that was being done to stop it all. Gladstone's staff gathered dust in secret vaults deep below the ground, its brilliant potential completely and utterly wasted.

As Nathaniel's thoughts began to stray, he stopped annotating. Weariness had long since been a part of his character, but presently he was succumbed with it. Numbness settled over him. Placing the report onto the seat next to him, he slouched even further into the upholstery, spacing out at the back of the driver's seat in front of him.

Nathaniel occasionally thought back to how impervious the British Empire had seemed when he was a boy, the golden charisma of Rupert Deveraux, the power and structure that it brought to the nation; it had an irresistible pull. After the incident with the Amulet of Samarkand, going into the government seemed a natural path, his true vocation.

His mind floated back to his first car ride in memory, when he had gone to Westminster hall with his master and Mrs Underwood. The fervency he had felt on the journey, and the even greater admiration he had experienced when seeing the crème of London had all but vanished. Instead of fervency, he felt a growing apathy towards Westminster. Instead of admiration towards the ministers, he saw them as no more than a squabbling mass of incompetent individuals, scrabbling about for any shred of power they could get. There was no honour, no nobility.

He felt the leather seat beneath his fingers and the insulating warmth of the car, allowing himself to become lost in the memories. Things were so simple when he was young; he had Mrs Underwood, Mrs Lutyens, sketching in the garden with the sun on his back...

It was nearing 6 o'clock as the car finally stopped outside Nathaniel's townhouse. Thanking his driver, he exited, softly shutting the door behind him. As the car rolled off into the night, he buried the negative thoughts about his current predicament. No point dwelling on them, it was hardly going to change anything.

Looking up at his looming house, he noticed only the living room window was emitting any light. Nathaniel realised in alarm that the demon and the toddler were both inside, no doubt causing havoc and making a mess on the white carpet. Storming up the steps and through the front door, he slammed his way into the living room.

As innocent as cherubs, the demon and the boy looked up as he kicked open the door. Bartimaeus was sitting cross legged on the sofa, dressed in a baggie hoodie, blue jeans and thick white socks. The child was sitting cross legged on his expensive plush Persian carpet in just a nappy, holding a dinosaur toy in his grubby mitts. He made a mental note to buy the kid some more clothes.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, the small boy got up and ran towards the magician. Squealing in giddiness, he wrapped himself around one of his neatly tailored legs.

Nathaniel peered down, half alarmed and half bemused, onto the sandy blond crown of hair. He felt like a bucket of water had just been poured over him. The rant he had been about to inflict upon the two died in his throat.

"Um..."

"You know we really ought to give him a name." The djinn spoke from his position on the sofa, completely unfazed by Nathaniel's situation.

"Please get it off me."

"You can't keep calling him 'it'."

Setting the djinn with a hard glare, Nathaniel waddled over to the opposite end of the sofa, shaking his leg as he went. The boy only released his hold once the irritated magician had sat down on the cream coloured pillows. Scrambling up to sit alongside him, the boy lifted up his dinosaur toy to show Nathaniel.

"De, de dinosaw."

"Ah, yes... uh, that's very nice." Having never been around children since he was one himself, the young man was incredibly awkward. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the djinn suppressing his laughter. Even though he was out of his comfort zone and still mildly irritated, Nathaniel felt oddly relaxed. All the stress that had built up during the day seemed to slide off his shoulders a little. Perhaps it was because the child was so completely removed from the stresses of adult life, he could pretend for a while that he was as well.

"De dinosaw, is gunnow." The blonde boy suddenly withdrew the toy, hiding it under his arm pit.

"I wouldn't reach down there if I was you." The djinn warned.

"Is he unclean?"

Bartimaeus nodded, making a face that suggested an unpleasant memory. "He was already grubby when I first had to deal with him and the situation hasn't improved."

Nathaniel wrinkled his nose. "What negligent parents he must have had."

"Or," the caramel-skinned youth stretched his arms, sinking deeper into the squishy settee, "perhaps his parents are pretty hard done by, and don't have the money to keep their child squeaky clean. You forget not everyone in this city has the luxury to preen to the extent that the magicians do."

After a moment's contemplation, Nathaniel made up his mind on the matter. "Nevertheless, he needs a good wash."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't order me to bathe him, I beg you." The fear in the djinn's voice was real.

He scoffed. "What could be so hard about bathing a toddler? You're being overdramatic. As usual."

"Me? Overdramatic?"

The child, who had been listening intently from his position in-between the two males, joined in on the conversation. "Baf?"

"Correct."

"Why baf?"

"Because you smell bad." Nathaniel told him in a matter-of-fact voice.

Pouting and crossing his arms, the little boy was evidently a better listener than Nathaniel had given him credit for.

"Dun wun baf. No"

"Too bad. Bartimaeus will give you a wash." Nathaniel looked up expectantly into Bartimaeus' eyes for the first time, and saw a great weariness that rivalled his own. Momentarily he forgot his words, lost in the swirls of raw emotion. He knew Bartimaeus was suffering, but when he saw it so openly displayed, a wave of guilt crashed over him. He wasn't being fair to him and they both knew it.

"Only if you help." He replied quick as a wink. Nathaniel averted his gaze, not wanting to see such similarities between himself and his servant. It would only make things hard.

After a moment's hesitation, he knew it owed it to him. "O-okay. How hard can it be anyway?"

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Nathaniel had immediately regretted the decision of offering to help once the struggling tot was lowered into the warm water by the Egyptian boy. Kicking and flapping his arms about as if he could fly out and escape, the child began to wail.

"Not again..." Bartimaeus groaned.

"We need to act fast! I'll get the soap, you hold him still so he doesn't get loose." Dashing about, Nathaniel found some body wash and quickly lathered up the protesting toddler. The ingrained dirt in his skin loosened and soon the bathwater became pale grey in colour.

Then came the shampooing.

Never in his life had Nathaniel heard such an amount of noise from something so small. The neighbourhood must have thought he was murdering someone. He had half expected the police to burst open the door, ready to arrest him.

By the time Bartimaeus was drying him off with a fluffy white towel, the bathroom had become a soapy mess. Stepping over one of many puddles, Nathaniel wrestled the boy into some new blue pirate pyjamas which Piper had picked up for him. He then helped him brush his little teeth with some special toothpaste Piper had also purchased. He never knew children needed so much help.

With the puddles being cleaned up by a small gang of imps, the knackered duo ascended the stairs to the boy's room. Plonking the fresh faced toddler in the crib, they admired their handiwork.

Unblemished pale skin, clean towel-dried fluffy hair, immaculate dental hygiene... It had been a true feat of determination and skill.

"I dun want sleep!" the pyjama-clad boy hopped up and down, shaking his head back and forth. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus exchanged glances. They were in for a second long night.

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	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter had to be split in two because it was getting SO long :0  
>Hope you enjoy it! :D<strong>

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**Bartimaeus**

I don't know whether it was my imagination or not, but Nathaniel actually seemed to be in high spirits as of late. I don't mean skipping about the house, singing and flinging flower petals in his wake – more like he wasn't as snappy, as terse and as rude as he usually was.

It was a subtle change, but with each day that passed he seemed increasingly in a better mood than the day before. I could only assume that the new guest in the house was to blame. The child seemed to like him, but this alone couldn't have been the reason for his sudden good mood. Surely the addition of a crying infant would make anyone more stressed out than they were before? Humans were confusing, Nathaniel especially so.

This was all very well and good for him, but until he dismissed me I wasn't going to congratulate the little berk anytime soon. I was still suffering here. My essence ached and I was beginning to feel exhausted even after the most menial tasks. Whether he was pirouetting around with the child underneath one arm and a flower garland in his hair or not, I still wanted out.

Laying on my side in the living room, I was catching my breath after an intensive game of hide-and-seek around the house with Peanut (They're his favourite snack and the same colour as his hair so it just sort of stuck. Don't look at me like that! My suggestion had been more modest: Bluebeard was my choice after the pirates on his pyjamas. But the fusspot had said it reminded him too much of the bearded mercenary.) Since Nathaniel hadn't forbid us from playing in his room, I'd hid in his wardrobe and after being caught we'd rolled around and jumped on the bed a little bit. He was out so why not?

I heard some suspicious shuffling coming from behind me, and with a smile I realised that I was being stealthily approached. Before I could turn and capture the child my head was pounced on, pushing me forward onto my stomach.

"Ouff!" I mumbled into the fluffy fibres of the Persian rug below me.

A high pitched giggle announced the presence of the suspected criminal, now sitting on my back. Standing on all fours and being ridden like a pony, I wandered around the room, occasionally wriggling or rising up so that he squealed and clung on to my t-shirt for his dear life.

Peanut was so easily entertained that I hardly had to do anything. In fact, if I wasn't feeling so worn out, I would have almost said that I was having a pretty fun time with the kid (don't catch me saying that to Nathaniel or he'd have me babysitting th kid till he was 40). I sort of got the feeling he quite liked me. It made a change from being seen as a 'despised demon'. I half wished most magicians were like him, even with the pooping and crying, it would be a great improvement on their nasty tempers.

It had been just over a week since Peanut had been dumped by the police force at Mandrake's house. Within that time I think we'd both grown quite attached. Although it was mostly because of our fear of his crying that we attended to his every need, after the first few days the perks of having him around became more obvious.

For me, it was to have someone that saw me for me. Children see everyone as good, and for once it was nice to not be seen as a 'despised demon' but just another person for him to play games with. It was refreshing to say the least. Another reason was that he found me as entertaining as I found myself (this was hard to come by, so many people don't share my sophisticated sense of humour), and of course – the endless opportunities to torment Nathaniel. Two of his carpets had already been thrown away from spillages, a light stand had been knocked over and smashed, and he had to book a decorator to cover up an unfortunate stain up the wall where Peanut had gotten too dizzy after me tossing him in the air and thrown up.

For Nathaniel, I think he felt like he was reconnecting with the innocent childhood he never really had. I doubt he could remember playing with toys or mucking around with his parents or the Underwoods (think of his old master getting on all fours and giving a six year old Nathaniel a horseback ride around the living room – see what I mean? The kid missed out on all that.) All he had was books. To him I also felt that it relieved the burdens of adulthood that he was presently experiencing in his late teens. Peanut was brutally honest, he liked heroes and he was completely interested in _everything_. For a bored old timer like Nathaniel, it must have been infinitely refreshing.

This was all a guess of course. I had no idea how the hamster running around in the wheel inside his head controls him.

Since it was Saturday, Nathaniel had agreed to take him on his first visit outside of the house to somewhere other than the ministry. He was still out with Makepeace for lunch, so the two of us were killing time in the house till he came back, as was his order. Dressed in a black and white chequered shirt with a thick green jumper on top and some smart beige corduroys – he'd really gone up in the fashion world compared to his first unkempt outfit. I was currently in Ptolemy's guise, wearing trackies and a baggy t-shirt for maximum comfortableness.

I lay back down, face squashed into the carpet, with Peanut still sitting on my back. The carpet was soft, the sofas were soft, my clothes were soft... If my essence wasn't hurting, I could have easily drifted away into a pleasant djinn-nap.

"Wer Nafanyel?" Peanut asked, standing up and waddling over to the window that overlooked the street outside.

"He's having lunch, he'll be back soon."

"Wen?"

"Probably about 10 minutes, maybe less."

"Wer we goin?"

I yawned. He asked so many questions. "I'm not sure. He'll tell us when he gets here."

"I wan go Bat Bat."

"You want to go with me?"

"Yes. An Nafanyel."

I smiled a little to myself again; no one in their right mind would ever want to go on a trip with Nathaniel and I. We bickered like an old married couple and were generally unpleasant company – but the little boy overlooked this somehow and gave us a common ground. Gotta hand it to him, he made the magician and I tolerate each other more than usual. Again, if I wasn't so tired I might have been (dare I say it) looking forward to the trip. It would be nice to get out of the house. Poor Peanut deserves it after all the prodding and probing they'd been doing to him at the lab under surveillance.

"Dere! Nafanyel Nafanyel!" the boy pressed his face against the window in eagerness as a black shiny car pulled up outside. Hopping with excitement, he pointed and looked back at me. "Dere! See!"

He scampered over and tugged at my shirt with considerable strength until I got to my feet and carried him down the stairs to the reception area and the front door. I set him down just as it opened.

On seeing Peanut, he crouched down and opened up his arms (he was even doing a strange thing with his mouth) as the boy came speeding towards him with the force of a steam train. Scooping him up and giving him a little toss in the air, I realised the strange mouth thing he was doing was, in fact, a tiny smile.

As if this wasn't unnatural enough, when Peanut wrapped his arms around his slender neck for a hug, he actually returned the embrace! I was like seeing a dog walk on his hind legs.

"Have you been visited by three spirits last night or something?"

He looked up, noticing me for the first time. His voice sounded so innocent when he replied. "What are you talking about?"

"You've had a scrooge-worthy transformation and it's creeping me out."

Nathaniel wandered over, dumping his suitcase on the reception sofa whilst still carrying the toddler. "I don't know what you mean, I haven't had any transformation."

"Wer we goin?" Peanut asked, placing a hand on Nathaniel's chin and staring at it with great curiosity. I don't know what it is with Peanut, maybe all kids do it, but he was so curious about everything. Prodding this, asking that, touching everything he could get his grubby mitts on. I just hoped he wouldn't be jabbing his fingers into anything dangerous in the future. Poking an afrit's backside wouldn't go down too well.

"It's a surprise."

"Prise?"

"You'll see when we get there, let's go."

He wandered back out, muttering a command to an imp stationed by the door as he went. I followed along behind. Soon we were all bundled into the back of the car and driving to the mystery destination.

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	6. Chapter 6

**I remember in AofS it mentions that Nathaniel went to the zoo once with Mrs Underwood when he was young... Read on! **

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**Bartimaeus**

I slouched in the leather seat, being in a car always made me feel a little queasy. It reeked of humans. Speaking of reeking humans, I took a glance to my right and observed the two that I was stuck with for the afternoon. Nathaniel was spacing out of the window, the hamster in his head was probably taking a fag break.

His hands loosely held Peanut on his lap, who was busy wiping his nose on his fancy new green jumper and looking around the interior of the car with his usual insatiable curiosity.

Absent-mindedly, I shifted into Kitty's curvy form to save on potential embarrassment if I was seen by someone like Faquarl whilst out on the town. Ptolemy was too risky. (Plus after being in the same form all day, aches tend to build up.)

"Ma!" Peanut's face lit up when I changed. On seeing Kitty he reached out, his fingers wriggling in the way that said 'hug, now'.

"I'm not your mum Peanut."

Nathaniel turned and gave a start at seeing my form.

"I told you not to wear that guise!" his face looked distinctly red in the dim light.

"Ma! Ma!"

"My essence is hurting, I changed form to quell it a fraction. Not that it even made much difference."

"You can change all you want. But can't you be something else?" he was acting the ruffled way he usually did when he saw Kitty. (Can't possibly think why).

"Ma!" Peanut was struggling on Nathaniel's lap now, his chin began wobbling dangerously.

"Quick!"

The boy was handed to me and the chin fortunately stopped it's trembling. The drama ceased.

"I think his mum might have looked like Kitty. Whenever he's crying late at night I change into her and he always calms down."

"Makes sense. Children prefer their mothers to their fathers at that age don't they? He must be confused as to where his mum has gone."

"Yeah I guess he is." A thought occurred to me then. "What will happen to him after the ministry has done all the resilience tests? Will you give him back to his family?"

Nathaniel looked away, his face looked hard and set. "It's not for me to decide. He will become an apprentice most likely. He has skills that could make a great magician... He can't go back to his family. If he stays a commoner he'll no doubt use his abilities to bring down the state in the future."

"So he'll never see his family again?"

There was a pause. "No."

I was quiet for a moment. The only sounds to be heard were the smooth rumble of the engine and the occasional mumble from beneath my chin. Peanut was on my lap, fiddling with the edge of my skirt and happily chatting to himself, oblivious to the momentous conversation above him.

"He still has a couple of years before he's old enough to be an apprentice, where will he go then?"

Nathaniel let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging a little. He sounded defeated. "I don't know."

The glum mood was only lifted once the car stopped and all was revealed about the mysterious destination.

"London zoo?" I asked incredulously as we got out of the car.

Nathaniel shrugged, feigning indifference. "I thought he'd like it."

"If he wanted to see animals I could have just changed into them at home." I said to him as we approached the ticket queue. I reckon this was just an excuse for _him_ to go and see the animals. No doubt he'd never been to a zoo in his life.

"This is different."

A few people seemed to recognise him in the queue, and I briefly wondered what he was going to say if anyone asked him what he was doing with a woman and a toddler in a zoo. He was most definitely single (trust me), he had no family or friends, and children of magicians weren't allowed. No doubt the papers would be on it in a flash. It would be a field day for them.

"Scandal! Mandrake's mysterious girlfriend!", "Unbelievable! Mandrake on baby duty!" or even better, "Disaster! Mandrake falls into ravenous tiger cage!" (one could only hope). I couldn't wait to read tomorrow's papers.

He didn't seem to particularly care when people whispered amongst themselves excitedly as he passed. He would probably make up some elaborate lie about it all later. Besides, going out on a trip like a normal person would probably build up his perfect reputation even higher from the commoner's point of view. Perhaps all this was just a propaganda stunt.

Once inside, Nathaniel wanted to see the lions. We headed over there with some difficulty as the boy kept trying to leg it (Peanut, not Mandrake. Though given half the chance he'd have run as well.) Eventually we realised Peanut could only be restrained from running riot by permanently sitting on Nathaniel's shoulders.

The sun shone on our backs as we peered into the lion enclosure. Sure enough, baking out on top of a wooden platform was a humongous lion and an accompanying lioness. The lion's mane was a rusty copper and both of their fur was a beautiful dusty gold. It briefly reminded me of my days back in Egypt. Lying down basking in the late summer sun seemed quite a good idea to me. I was a tad jealous.

"I haven't been to the zoo since I was living in the old house." Nathaniel said quietly, almost to himself.

"Mr Underwood went to the zoo?" I couldn't believe it.

"No, not with him" he shook his head, "with Mrs Underwood." He spoke softly, eyes never leaving the big cats. I got the feeling he was being distracted by his inner melancholy a lot as of late. That happens in your late teens I'm told – a lot of looking back.

"That's nice of her. I guess this was the only fun day out you ever had." I wanted to be mean and start playing an invisible violin to heighten his sadness, but I chose not to. Poor kid was probably having all sorts of emotions right now.

"What's tha dog?" Peanut asked, pointing at the lions from on Nathaniel's shoulders.

"It's a lion."

"rion?"

"Panthera Leo is the Latin term. They live in the savannahs of central Africa and- "

"And they'll eat you up!" I interrupted the walking encyclopaedia, tickling Peanut's neck. He giggled and wrapped his arms around Nathaniel's face.

"That too" he muffled with Peanut's sleeve in his mouth. "Come on let's see what else is here."

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For the next few hours we were given a special guided tour by Peanut featuring his wondrous insights into the animal kingdom. With Nathaniel holding his feet and the toddler pointing two and fro, perched on his shoulders, he was an unstoppable vehicle for delivering knowledge.

"Das dog!" he shouted with conviction, gesturing towards a beefy rhinoceros.

"Duk!" he exclaimed, pointing at the herd of moody camels.

"Rion!" he cried, indicating at the gorilla that watched him with a raised eyebrow through the glass.

"I think when we get home you need to brush up on your zoology."

We meandered around a while longer before he began to get hungry. We passed a small cafe near the reptile house and stopped there for a while.

I watched them as they gobbled their ice creams. I was in awe of how messily they were eating their dripping soft-serves. Nathaniel seemed to be making more of a mess of it than Peanut.

"Do you need a baby wipe for your gob?"

"What?"

"You've got ice cream all over your face."

He looked a little embarrassed. "Yes."

I raised Kitty's dark eyebrows, "Yes what?"

"Yes please". He snatched the wipe as I held it out, quickly removing the white cream from around his mouth.

I removed what I could from around Peanut's messy chops. He was beaming ear to ear, his brown eyes burning bright with happiness.

"Did you enjoy that?" I asked the toddler.

"Quite satisfactory, yes." Nathaniel replied. I rolled my eyes.

"What sort of minister of the British government eats a 99 flake? I thought caviar or liver pate or larks tongues would be right up your street for an afternoon snack, Natty boy."

He in turn raised his eyebrows at me this time. Surprisingly, he didn't berate me for using that nickname. "Why shouldn't I be able to eat what I want?"

I shrugged, a little confused at his reaction. I'd expected him to justify his actions angrily. "I just didn't think it would be your cup of tea."

"Well I guess you don't know me as well as you think Bartimaeus." He smirked, finishing off the cone.

I felt a little pang of hurt at hearing that from him. I'd known him since he was 12, surely I was the only one who knew anything about his true nature. I quickly brushed off this feeling however, it must be my essence causing me to get all emotional.

After they both finished, the three of us made our way to the exit. Before we had even pulled out of the car park, Peanut had fallen asleep in my arms.

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I couldn't resist making a whole chapter just about their visit, it's far too fun to write!

Please follow or post a review :)


	7. Chapter 7

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**Kitty**

A chilling breeze blew along the Thames, whipping up the waters and whistling through the alcoves of the government buildings. Four silent black shadows moved through the back alleys of central London, stealing cover in the dark and treading noiselessly through the debris of dereliction. There was no one about. Curfew was in practise, and the four shadows kept well away from the main roads, where search spheres drifted.

It was about 3 o'clock in the morning when she, along with three others from the new resistance, arrived at the back of Mandrake's moonlit house. Her friends remained crouched behind the back wall whilst she picked her way through the small garden. Kitty then began to ascend the rear of the building.

There was no nexus, no patrolling demons, and no alarm; however one of her friends had detected magical presences within the house. She would have to be as stealthy as a fox if she had any hope of carrying out this plan smoothly. It was a miracle there was so little defences. But the absence made her terribly uneasy.

Not sure which floor to enter, she went with her instincts and chose the top one. Knowing Mandrake – he'd have wanted the child as far away from him as possible. A flush of anger shot through Kitty as she passed the second story window, using suckers, gripping shoes and a lot of muscle to heave her way up. Of course Mandrake would imprison her child at the top of the house like a servant not fit to be seen.

She reached the top window and peered inside. The moon cast barely enough light to see any of the interior, but she could just about make out a cot, a chest of draws and a rug close to the window. Looking back at her comrades and receiving an all-clear signal, she crouched on the narrow ledge and opened the window using a pry bar as quietly as she could.

Sliding the window pane upwards to allow enough room to slink inside, Kitty slid through the gap and stood in the room. She allowed a few moments for her eyes to adjust and sure enough, there, sleeping soundly in the cot, was her child.

Filled with an aching relief at seeing her child after over a week of separation, Kitty almost stepped forward on instinct. But, she remembered her training. There could be trip wires or demons nearby that she couldn't detect. Regaining her senses, she quickly surveyed the rest of the room from her position. She slipped her hand into her pocket, where a silver disk hid. Brandishing it, she silently did a circuit of the room, ready to pounce at any moment.

Strangely, there was nothing there awaiting her in the dark. Swallowing hard and wanting to leave as fast as she could, she went to the toddler and gently picked him up. As tenderly as she could, she fitted him into her back baby carrier. It was a snug fit, and it was a miracle he didn't wake up. He must have had a long day, Kitty thought.

With her son in the carrier on her back, she quickly advanced towards the window, sliding out with suckers ready on her palms.

Hardly breathing and scarcely believing there had been no attack or protection, Kitty lowered the window back down. Her black gloves stopped her finger prints from being recognised, a useful habit she had picked up from the old resistance. Balancing like an acrobat, she descended the wall.

Upon reaching the ground, she trod carefully through the garden towards her friends. Her son stirred in his sleep on her back. Just a few more meters...

Suddenly, a light turned on behind her, and the back door of the house swung open.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as she turned her head. John Mandrake stood at the door, dressed in nothing but boxers and slippers. One hand was holding a steaming mug of what looked like tea, and the other hand was on the door handle. A small lamp to the left of the door had been turned on, illuminating Mandrake and the garden where she stood with a soft wash of light.

He looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

He was taller, less lanky and his hair was much shorter. But other than that, it was the same pale faced, wide-eyed boy who she'd saved the life of all those years before.

His jaw hung a little slack, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Kitty knew it was time to leave.

Kitty only held his eyes for a second before she was at the back of the garden and over the brick wall. The encounter had only lasted a few seconds at most. But it was enough.

Breathing hard, with her heart in her throat, Kitty rejoined her team and headed south with urgency. Never looking back for fear of what might come after them.

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They had managed to clear central London by the time the sun had risen, moving swiftly and stealthily through a pre-planned route. Their strategy was to travel by foot and to avoid detection in order to safely escape London, unable to be tracked.

Kitty knew that there would be forces sent out to find her child, but the group including her, were prepared. Each member carried a bag filled to the brim with supplies. Inferno sticks, silver blades, elemental spheres, cubes of herbs and rare items such as amulets. They didn't know what might be sent after them, but at least with this they had a fighting chance.

The group were currently walking through some woodland near to a main road, sticking to single file and moving fast. Although her legs were aching Kitty forced herself to keep going. Her son had woken up about an hour ago and after being fed, was enjoying the ride on her back without complaint. Trudging along, Kitty had plenty of time to think about the future she was hastily moving towards.

After a week of intensive planning, Kitty had decided the best option for her and her child was to live abroad with Jacob in Prague until he was old enough to defend himself. Then, she would come back to Britain and help with establishing a commoner's government with the help of her son.

Out of the group, Kitty was the only one planning to escape the country. The rest were going to start new lives in remote villages the south coast, away from the danger until a later date. They were travelling together for safety, and had all previously known each other in the neo-resistance.

In front of her was a auburn haired young man named Matthew Grant. Known to all as, 'Matt', he had become actively involved in underground activity after night police arrested his parents on suspicion of being involved with artefact thefts a few years previous. They had been deported to the colonies when he was only 16. He was friendly and outgoing, but sometimes did seem a bit overzealous and irrational when angry. He planned to 'rally forces' in the south by looking for those with abilities, but Kitty was a little dubious about how he was going to carry it out. In some ways he reminded Kitty of the ex-resistance member, Nick Drew.

In front of Matt, leading her small group on the route was Laura Stoker. She was in her mid forties and had a long history of suffering under the magicians through family tragedies and unfortunate circumstances. Fiery and incredibly intelligent, she put in a lot of effort into the cause. Laura was short and stout, with a head of thick brown hair that reached half way down her back. She had become involved through meetings at the frog inn and wished to live near her relatives, safe in Dover.

Leading the way south, she had a map in her hands and although her legs were short, she was making quick work of the difficult terrain.

"You all ok back there?" she asked like the mother goose, pushing aside some shrubbery. Sounds of tired confirmation reached her ears. "Good work, keep it up!"

Lastly, tagging along behind her was Jess Young. She was in her late teens, only a little younger than Kitty herself. Jess had long blonde hair and a smattering of freckles on her delicate face; her body was thin and slight. Her fragile appearance was countered with an incredibly bossy nature and an iron determination that even Kitty had to admire. Her dedication to the cause meant that she was going with Matt to help hunt people with resilience or magic ability.

After a few hours of walking. The rag-tag team took a break by a small stream. The sun was still rising in the sky. Matt reckoned it was nearing 9 o'clock.

Kitty took her son out of the baby carrier so he could stretch his legs. He looked a little wary of the new people, but otherwise he looked fine.

"Is he hurt at all? We didn't have time to check before." Laura asked from the tree trunk she was perching on.

"I don't think so." Kitty responded as she checked him all over for any signs of injury or harm.

"It's a miracle they didn't harm him at all." Jess said, "We're lucky he's ok."

Matt grinned down at the toddler. "It's good to have you back, Alexander."

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The day progressed slowly. The crew walked virtually non-stop and had to be on constant guard for enemies or threats. Their food provisions kept their stomachs at bay, but the physical exhaustion was crippling. Alex hitched rides on all four of the members, and so was spared the exercise.

They were making good progress by the second day, and had made it as far as East Grinstead before they encountered any danger.

The rebels had entered a small village to stock up on supplies. Whilst Matt was in the shop haggling for cans of food, the rest were in an alley nearby, resting their sore feet and massaging their backs.

A single voice caused them to all turn simultaneously.

"Are you the members of the new resistance that escaped London yesterday?"

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Omg I'm literally writing three chapters a week I've gone crazy.  
>We finally found out the child's name! I chose Alexander because it means 'defender of people' :D<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Three chapters in one day? Someone hold me back!

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**Nathaniel**

He tossed and turned in his sleep, slipping in and out of consciousness every few minutes. The bed sheets tangled in his legs. It was hot, far too hot in the room.

Moaning in frustration, he kicked the covers off of his sweaty body and sat upright. He'd been trying to sleep for hours, but strange dreams and thoughts kept whirring around his brain until he felt sick and dizzy.

There was only one possible solution to this: a cup of tea.

Stepping into his slippers and making for the door, Nathaniel stumbled downstairs and into the kitchen. He flicked on a small lamp and made some tea. He was still feeling hot from sleep, so he decided to go outside for some fresh air. The garden always was a place of peace and solitude. He flicked on the switch for the outside lamp and opened the back door, tea in hand.

The sight he was met with took the breath from his lips and all plausible thought from his mind.

There, in the middle of his garden was Kitty Jones with Peanut on her back. She was dressed all in black, like a robber, and staring at him like a rabbit in the headlights.

But, Kitty was dead.

Was it Bartimaeus?

But she looked different than the Kitty-Bartimaeus he had spent the afternoon with yesterday.

Her hair was shorter than he remembered; it was wavier now, cropped to a long bob. On wavy strand was tucked behind an ear. She was still pale, but her face was a little thinner, more defined. Her eyes were darker, framed by eyelashes that looked longer... she was far curvier, and definitely not as stick-like as he remembered. It sent a shock wave of an unknown feeling down Nathaniel's spine.

Before his brain even had a chance to figure out what he was seeing, she had legged it down the end of the garden and vaulted the wall, disappearing from his sight.

Nathaniel stood there for a moment, swaying slightly.

Was that a dream?

It can't have been the real Kitty. She died saving him from the Golem, it was impossible. It had to be Bartimaeus.

But why was Peanut on his back? Where was he going?

Nathaniel turned off the light and went back inside, shutting the door behind him. He left the tea forgotten on the countertop.

He hadn't given Bartimaeus new orders. He should still be looking after Peanut in the house. What was he doing gallivanting about in the middle of the night?

Nathaniel climbed to the top of the house. Peanut was nowhere to be seen. A strange mixture of uncertainty and panic arose within him.

"Bartimaeus!" he demanded. His voice came out sounding more desperate than he had intended. There was no answer. He descended downstairs and called again. Still nothing. He went to the ground floor and called a third time, his heart was beating fast. None of this made sense.

A small, muffled voice from the living room answered. "What?" It sounded peeved.

Nathaniel stormed into the living room, expecting to see him in the guise of Kitty, with Peanut on her back. But when he threw open the door, there was only a small Egyptian cat curled up on one of the armchairs. It looked like its nap had been interrupted.

"Where is Peanut?"

The cat looked confused. "...Upstairs?"

Nathaniel felt all the blood rush from his face. He gripped the door handle for support.

"No, no...you just took him, dressed as Kitty, and you leapt over the wall... why isn't he in his cot?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just now, I went outside and I saw you dressed as Kitty, and you had Peanut on your back and then you ran away. So why isn't he upstairs? Why didn't you put him back?" his voice was rising but he couldn't help it.

The cat looked honestly shocked. He slowly shook his head, hi cat eyebrows furrowed. "That wasn't me...I've been here sitting here for hours."

"Then that was..." he trailed off, a thousand different emotions battered him from all sides. "B-But she's dead! She died three years ago!"

The cat looked emotionless. Before Nathaniel's eyes it shifted into the familiar form of the Egyptian boy. He was wearing trackies and a t-shirt that said 'down with magic'. He wasn't saying anything. Impassive black eyes stared at him from the arm chair.

"You told me she was dead! You said she died saving me!" his voice cracked as he spoke. He didn't want to show emotion in front of the djinn, but it was proving impossible.

"If you saw her then... I guess I was wrong."

"Wrong? You said she was burnt to a crisp! How can you have been _wrong_?" Nathaniel was beside himself. All those years of grief and guilt washed over him anew with a staggering intensity, but now he knew they had counted for nothing. He was burning hot with rage and embarrassment and distress. She was still alive! The demon had tricked him!

"Look" the boy in the armchair stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. "Leave her alone, if she took Peanut it's her right. The police took him-"

"I will not _leave her alone_ she's stolen the child and she's a wanted criminal! Don't try to defend her!" He seethed; he hadn't felt this angry for years. A dam of pent up emotions broke through his mental walls, swirling through his body. Nathaniel's fitful night of sleep, the swirling questions in his mind. They all blurred together in an irrational rage, tears stung at his eyes.

"I will defend her. She's done no wrong." The djinn said quietly.

"Yes she has!" A thought occurred to him "You were in this together weren't you?!" he gripped the djinn's arms, shaking him a little. His impassiveness was scaring him. He was acting too human.

"Is – Is there affection between the two of you? Is that why?"

"Please, as if she'd feel any affection towards a djinn." Nathaniel detected bitterness in Bartimaeus' voice. "She hates all magic."

"But she always takes exception to you! You always choose her form as well; there must be some attraction between you two." Nathaniel felt a stab of jealousy as he said this. It was true, Bartimaeus liked her a lot. Whether it was admiration or affection, he didn't know. Whether it was one sided, he also didn't know.

The djinn's face remained unreadable, but Nathaniel thought he could see a spark of fire in his dark eyes ignite. "I didn't want her to be hunted down by you. That's all."

"Don't give me that!" Nathaniel pushed the djinn with a force that surprised both of them. Tripping backwards, Bartimaeus fell softly onto the sofa behind. Nathaniel lunged on top of him, straddling the djinn below. "You still used her form to deliberately torment me for years when you knew I suffered! How can you justify that?"

Nathaniel was red in the face and slightly teary, his voice was cracking with the weight of his emotions and his fists were white and shaking as he gripped Bartimaeus' stupid t-shirt like a vice. Although dressed only in his boxers and slippers, Nathaniel had gone past caring.

"I can't, it's just..."

"What?!"

"I thought that the guilt would help you keep your conscience... you had almost lost it by the end of the golem incident. I didn't want you to change into one of them." He finished quietly, averting his eyes. His face looked more tired than he'd ever seen it before. He wasn't even struggling beneath Nathaniel. He was too weak. The tiny fire he'd seen before had gone out.

"I will never be one of them." Nathaniel shook his head, his voice filled with contempt.

"It's hard to tell with you."

"Trust me."

The djinn smirked. "Unlikely."

Nathaniel stood up, wiping at his eyes angrily. Leaving Bartimaeus sprawled on the sofa with a scrunched up shirt.

"We have to get Peanut back." he told the djinn.

"Why can't you leave him alone? He might be back with his family by now."

"Kitty wouldn't do that. If she had any sense she'd be fleeing the country right now with him in tow. The whole of police will be after her."

"Only you and I know she's alive." Bartimaeus said with a slow and particular emphasis. "We don't have to tell anyone it was her."

Nathaniel held his gaze for a while, thinking it all over. "Yes...you're right. I'll tell the police we didn't see the face of the thief. Then, I'll send someone out to get them back without anyone else getting involved."

"Why get them back at all?"

"Because" he ran an exasperated hand through his hair, "Peanut needs to be brought up a magician. If he stays a commoner there'll be trouble. Kitty is a criminal. I can't let her get away with everything she's done."

"She did save your life though Nathaniel."

"Whether she did or not, she's still an enemy of the state. I know I said I won't be like the other magicians. But upholding the law of the country is different. This is different."

"Well, since you're going to be sending some other poor sod out to find them, can I have a break now? I've been on nanny duty all week and I'm about to drop dead."

After another argument, Nathaniel agreed to give Bartimaeus at least a day's rest before summoning him again starting from that moment.

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When the police arrived in the morning, Nathaniel gave a detailed account of what had happened, with the exception of Kitty's involvement.

He said he did not see the thief's face, but he had suspected it had been a man. When they had asked why a spirit had not intervened and killed the intruder, he replied that he was giving his demons a break for the night, but that he did have one servant employed. He claimed that his one djinn on guard had not been aware of the burglary as he had been on patrol around the neighbourhood as well as in the house.

That afternoon, he sat alone at his desk. It was completely silent. Piper was out, Bartimaeus was having a break and Peanut was missing. He realised that he didn't have any friends or relatives or anyone that would actually want to talk to him in the whole world except those three. And two of those were a little dubious anyhow.

With a long, weary sigh he looked at the mountain of paperwork that he had to finish by the end of the day. But he just found himself staring at it instead of doing it. Once again, he felt entirely disconnected. His job felt like a heavy coat he wanted to shrug off.

Alone and waiting for dawn to summon Bartimaeus, he planned out how he was going to bring back Peanut and Kitty.

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Please review and tell me how you think it's going :0


	9. Chapter 9

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a lovely holiday. On with the plot...

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**Bartimaeus**

Can you believe that kid? One day off for all that hard work I put in with Peanut. One lousy stinking day.

Before I'd even gotten comfortable in the Other Place, I was being yanked back down to earth again by the scruff of my essence. The injustice of it!

The second I was in the pentangle, a neatly tailored Nathaniel (note the absence of boxers and bunny slippers) had ordered me to find Kitty and Peanut, integrate into their group as a fellow escapee for three days and on the dawn of the fourth day, then bring them back to his house. During my time with them I was meant to 'gather information on them and what's going on'- whatever that meant. This involved disguising myself as some grubby commoner and pretending to be human, not to mention the physical exertion it was going to take to maintain the form convincingly. Ptolemy was my most comfortable form, but Kitty would know instantly it was me.

Overall, it was far easier said than done. Acting believingly human was hard enough (hiding my true intelligence was a constant effort), but I just don't know if I could capture them and turn them in. Who knew what he was planning to do? Judging by how angry he'd been a day ago, I wasn't too hopeful. The kid would go back to being experimented on, and Kitty might be sent to the tower.

Nevertheless, I had to obey if I had any chance of being dismissed.

England's suburbs stretched out before me like an ugly concrete maze as I flew over in the form of a falcon, broken up by occasional patches of park land. Eventually the woodland began to outnumber the houses, and towns became the occasional splat of brown amongst a patchwork of fields.

After hours of tracking, I finally found them in a small village named Turner's Hill, a little to the west of East Grinstead. I must admit I was impressed at the amount they'd managed to walk in a day, especially carrying a child in tow.

It was your average English village filled with a hotchpotch of closely packed architectural styles: sagging Tudor taverns, Georgian country houses, Victorian shop fronts and newer council residencies. The higgledy-piggeldy streets offered plenty of lurking spots. Kitty and Peanut were currently resting in a small alley near a newsagents with a few other rebels, I decided to land a little further away and approach on foot.

I swiftly descended into an alley a block away. Sitting on a dustbin and catching my breath, I weighed up my options for my form for the next four days.

I soon settled on my choice: A young male, around Nathaniel's age. Medium height, medium build, medium everything (I wasn't feeling particularly imaginative). His short hair was the colour of caramel, styled in loose waves that hung down over dark eyebrows. His eyes were a common hazel colour. There was nothing particularly interesting about him. I hoped this would make me as typically human as possible.

Dressed in a baggy denim jacket with a layered tartan top and a loose t-shirt underneath, I went for the typical commoner street look. I paired it with worn out jeans and dirty trainers. I had to look like I was a rebel, a man on the run, a grubby commoner i.e. the same as them (excluding the sweaty smell, there were some limits to my commitment).

I emerged from the alley on to the pavement. A few people walked past, carrying shopping, pushing prams and talking to their friends. A bus with a few token passengers rumbled past. It all seemed innocent enough; everything was as it should be. No 7th plane surprises or black magician cars.

I tried my best to look casual as I strolled towards the alley the resistance team were in.

A slim blonde girl, a small burly woman, a familiar toddler and a tired looking Kitty stood in the narrow brick alley in front of me. They all looked exhausted, muddy and grey-faced (with the exception of Peanut, he was looking as chirpy as ever.)

"Are you the members of the new resistance that escaped London yesterday?" I asked in what I hoped was a friendly tone.

Three heads turned simultaneously in my direction faster than thought. Three pairs of eyes narrowed in suspicion and exchanged wary glances. Evidently, they had not wanted to be disturbed. I felt like a deer that had wandered into a tiger's den.

The short burly woman glared at me and answered briefly. "Who's asking?"

"It's just that, well I...I heard that you were heading south to rally people, news travels fast though pubs and that. I wanted to be in on whatever you're doing. I want to help the cause." I tried to sound as seriously enthusiastic as I could. They exchanged glances again.

"What's your name?"

Crap. I'd completely forgotten about a name. I flicked through a thousand options in my head, landing on something in a fraction of a second. Luckily I had superior cognitive abilities, if it were Nathaniel doing this he'd have already given the game away like the wally he was.

"John. John Stoker. But most people call me Johnny." I stuck out a hand to her in a friendly gesture. She looked at my outstretched palm as if it were covered in slime.

"Thank you for your interest in the cause John, but I don't really think we can just let you wander in-"

"Who's this kid?" Whilst the round woman had been talking, a lanky young man had arrived holding a bag of tinned foods and several loafs of bread. I lowered my hand.

"He wants to help the cause." The blonde girl answered, she had both bony hands on her hips and was eyeing me up as she spoke. "He found out about us through the pub network."

"Great, let him join the team!" The young man beamed genuinely as he handed Kitty several cans of sweet corn.

"Matt, he could be a spy." The round woman spoke again, not bothering to be subtle about it.

"I'm not a spy! I want to help."

"What pub did you hear about us in?" The woman asked again, ignoring my protests.

"At the Queen's Head a day ago." I answered, not missing a beat. Luckily I'd passed this pub on the short walk here.

"Wow, news does travel fast. The network must be better than we thought." Matt replied, nodding approvingly.

"Information gets out of London pretty fast, you'd be surprised. It's just frustrating being so far from the action, hence I'm very glad to have found you. It was a bit of a long shot but I thought I'd ask and see."

The flattery seemed to work on him, he nodded with a smile. "Well I don't see any reason why you can't join our team, we're going to start rallying the masses further south, and if you want to join now then that's fine. Have you got any abilities or resilience?"

"I can see auras of magical items and stuff. I've only seen a few things living around here, but I want to use it to help if I can." (Technically speaking, I wasn't lying. The seventh plane let me see magical auras clear as crystal. I thought it'd be good to chuck in a useful ability. It made my rebel commoner CV more impressive.)

"What kept you from going to London to be closer to '_the action_' then?" The freckled blonde asked in a nasally voice, cocking her head to one side.

"My dad didn't want me to; he thought it was too dangerous. But I'm eighteen now, I figure I can make my own decisions about it all."

"He'll have to past the test." Kitty spoke for the first time. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking at me with the same amount of wary suspicion the others were. Peanut clung to her leg, with a thumb in his mouth, watching me with curiosity but no doubt sensing the sudden unease of the others.

I pursed my lips innocently, "What test?"

"It's nothing major don't worry mate. You just have to drink from a silver cup." Matt fished about in his rucksack, pulling out a small silver chalice. It looked suspiciously like stolen property. He squirted a little water into it from his own bottle, before handing it to me.

My essence prepared itself for the burning sensation that would surely give me away as I took the cup from his hands. It would all be over in a matter of seconds...

To my utter disbelief, I felt only a faint pain. It was nowhere near as agonising as it should've felt. The chalice therefore wasn't pure silver – I couldn't believe my luck!

The others watched with wide-eyed interest as I raised it to my lips. I slowly drank the entire contents before handing it back to him with an ear-to-ear grin. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve.

"Easy peasy."

The group instantly seemed a little more relaxed after seeing that. Their main fear must have been that I was a demon spy. Poor things, they really should check the silver quality of their nabbed goods.

"Well that decides it Johnny, welcome to the team!"

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The hardest thing about pretending to be human was definitely having to eat.

I timidly nibbled at a spoonful of baked beans. We'd been eating dinner for 10 minutes and everybody except me had finished already. My progress thus far had been little. (Indigestion didn't help either; my essence was fragile enough without half a litre of baked beans weighing it down.)

Kitty sat to my left, staring into the fire as if in a trance. Peanut was fast asleep on her lap, his little hands clutching instinctively to her arms. To the left of her was the compact woman Sarah, who was reading the map with difficulty as the small fire didn't offer enough light. To my right was Jess, and to her right, opposite me, was Matt. The night air was incredibly still and quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the crackles from the smouldering fire and the occasional owl hoot. The fresh air was a definite improvement from the smog of London, but the beans, not so much.

"Would you like another slice of bread Johnny?" Jess offered, holding out a piece of cardboard quality white loaf to me. She batted her eyelashes.

"Nah, I'm okay thanks." I held up my bean can with a wink.

"Are you sure? You've hardly eaten your beans." Her delicate eyebrows knitted together in a frown and she pouted a little. As polite as she was, I'd rather have eaten the log we were sitting on than another mouthful of cardboard bread. (Of course, I didn't say this to her. I was a polite young gent after all.)

"Thanks Jess but I've never been a big eater. I'm quite fussy. Used to drive my dad up the wall with it."

"You've got to keep your strength up Johnny. Energy levels are crucial." Matt commented from the opposite side of the fire with a brotherly concern. He was gently poking the smouldering log pile with a big stick and watching the embers dance.

"I'll be alright, honest."

It was with great difficulty that I avoided more bread and beans, and eventually lay down with the others around the fire to 'sleep'.

Matt kept watch for the first half of the night, with Sarah taking over for the other half.

Lying on the cold, uncomfortable earth, with bits of twig digging into my side and soft mud pressing into my cheek, I pretended to sleep. We were all packed together in a line like cold, shivering sardines.

Jess snored gently behind me, her face resting on my back. Kitty slept directly in front of me, her curvaceous silhouette dimly lit by the dying embers of the fire. She curled into me a little so that our foreheads touched. Peanut lay between us, wrapped in a spare jumper for warmth. I drifted in and out of old memories, feeling quite content despite my aching essence and the cold. Unconsciously, I wrapped my arms around Peanut, who in turn snuggled a little closer. I briefly wondered if he recognised my scent.

It was a long and boring night, but I found that it could've been a lot worse.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Kitty**

Johnny Stoke.

There was something about him Kitty couldn't put her finger on. Something was definitely different about him. She knew he wasn't a demon, and he certainly wasn't a magician, but he was _something._

The way he looked at her was different than all her comrades. It was if there was a hidden element lurking beneath the surface of his chatty, cheeky exterior. It wasn't necessarily a bad sort of something, but it made her immediately curious and also a little annoyed that she didn't know what it was. She wasn't used to being so affected by an individual.

It was around midday of the second day with him. It was very warm out despite it being late September. There was a cool breeze in the air which was refreshing, but not as inviting as the wide stream which they had stopped by for a break.

Sarah was nose-deep in her map, Matt was sharing some crisps with Alexander, Jess was chatting to Johnny and Kitty was dipping her aching feet in the edge of the cool stream for some relief. As she felt the pebbles beneath her toes and relaxed, Kitty couldn't help overhear the conversation nearby between Johnny and Jess.

"... yeah I've always wanted to fight the magicians in London, be part of the network and all that."

"Oh you should, your abilities are _really_ useful. We have a large underground network, it's not that united at the moment but we're nothing like the terrorist resistance before. We want everyone with abilities to unite and come to London as soon as we have enough numbers, then we'll bring the magic to an end for good."

"I can't wait to be part of that, when do you think you'll be ready to openly fight?"

"I don't think anyone knows yet. I guess it depends on how many we find. I bet you're a _great_ fighter Johnny."

"I wouldn't count on that; I'm just a ignorant village lad. Me up against a vicious, bloodthirsty demon? I'd have no chance."

She giggled annoyingly. Kitty looked over her shoulder to see the blonde leaning against him; a little too close for people who met yesterday. "You just haven't had the chance. If we do encounter demons, I'm sure you'll be like a knight in shining armour."

Kitty held back a grimace at her word choice. Never did Jess look more her age than when she was attempting to flirt. "Knight in shining armour" sounded like something a six year old girl would say. What was worse was that Johnny was actually laughing along with her, what an idiot.

The dark haired girl went back to looking at the scenery, ignoring the brainless conversation behind her completely. The wind whistled gently through the towering trees, moving the sunshine through the leaves in mesmeric dapples of light that danced and played off each other like butterflies. Tiny fishes with gleaming silver scales darted past her ankles, drawing her attention back to the water. Crouching down in the shallow edge she dipped her hands into the stream, wiggling her fingers in the small currents.

Kitty's shimmering reflection stared back at her, as she watched it fluctuate on the water, a second reflection joined her to the left. She looked up to see Johnny crouching by her side in an identical position to her, also shoeless.

"This is really refreshing." He said, not meeting her eyes, but watching his hands in the water. "My feet are killing me."

"Mine too. It comes with the job." Kitty wasn't sure why, but she was feeling a little grumpy at being interrupted whilst enjoying some peace and quiet. He hadn't shut up the whole morning, and now he was here to pester her.

"Yeah I guess I should've expected it. So, what's your story then? I don't know anything about you Kitty."

"My story?"

"Yeah" he looked up at her, his hazel eyes appraising her. "How you got to be with this lot, why you've stayed here, where you're going with this trip..." he trailed off, watching her expectantly.

"Mind your own business."

He burst out in laughter. His smile seemed to radiate from all over his body. "I guess I should, I'm just naturally nosy you see. Get it from my dad; he has a whopping great tomato of a nose. He couldn't go near the high street less all the traffic should stop, waiting for it to go green."

The joke was so awful that she cracked a small smile. She hoped he would miss it but of course he didn't.

"Was that a smile, Miss Jones?"

She eyes shot up to meet his as he called her Miss Jones – the way he had said that sent a trigger off in her mind. She had heard her name spoken like that before by someone. She quickly dismissed it from her head, it was probably coincidence. Besides, he wasn't a demon. "No."

"I think it was."

"It definitely was not, bugger off." She gave him a playful small shove, intended purely for banter purposes, but he was caught off guard and, with his arms spinning like an out of control windmill, toppled forwards into the knee-deep water with a great splash.

"Oi!" he spluttered with loud indignation as he sat up, completely soaked through. With a devilish grin he supported himself on one arm and gave her an even harder shove, pushing Kitty to the right into the stream.

The next few minutes had the two of them wrestling and pushing each other over in the shallow water like children, splashing and yelping for mercy as they tried to submerge each other in the fast flowing water.

The rest of the group watched on with amusement, but it was only when Kitty cut her hand when falling back that Matt intervened. Before Johnny could compose himself and get to her, he was already at her side, guiding her from the shallows of the stream like she'd just broken a leg.

"Kitty are you ok?"

"It's nothing, just a cut."

"We don't have any first aid with us, it could get infected."

"I'll be fine, I think I'll live." She gave him a half smile. "Thanks though."

"Well, if it starts looking bad just let me know and we'll find some plasters from somewhere ok?"

"Will do."

Matt gave her a encouraging smile, before issuing orders to the group that they better get moving. As the rebels packed away their snacks and put their aching feet back into boots, Johnny extracted himself from the river behind them, and wadded over in his soggy clothing till he stood beside the injured girl.

"Sorry Kitty."

She turned to face him, "Its fine."

She didn't mean to be dismissive to him, but she felt on edge when he was standing so close to her. Her heart was beating as if it were trying to escape her chest after their play fight. Kitty had expected it to stop, but when he stood in front of her, dripping wet and looking uncharacteristically apologetic, it only increased in speed.

Drips of sunlit water trailed from his wet locks down the angles of his face. His t-shirt was soaked through, sticking like glue to the planes of his chest. His eyes shone a brilliant forest hazel in the sunlight, and she was struck yet again by the foreignness they held. However Kitty realised suddenly that perhaps for the last day or so, the strangeness that she'd felt about him may be because of something else.

Kitty flushed, realising she'd been gazing at him for a bit too long. She quickly looked away hiding her embarrassment with the assertiveness she was so used to. "C'mon we need to go."

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It was only at the end of the day, after much more bantering and laughter with Johnny en route, that Kitty realised what had brought about all these emotions and strange feelings. She was lying next to Alex, Johnny, Matt and Jess on the floor. Johnny had draped his now dry jacket over her and Alex, the smell of which she found oddly calming and safe. He was opposite her now, his features just about visible by the light of the moon. She gazed on his gentle sleeping face, taking in his messy curls and the strong angle of his jaw. She breathed in slowly, letting the scent of his clothes warm her.

Then it hit Kitty like a 10 tonne truck. She was becoming – quite unwillingly and against her better judgement – a little fond of the newcomer Johnny.


	11. Chapter 11

**Bartimaeus**

I lay on my back, staring up through the forest canopy to patches of clear night sky. Clusters of stars shone their light down onto me and Kitty, for she was lying curled up beside me. My arm wrapped around her back, keeping my jacket in place as her blanket and keeping her close for warmth's sake (obviously. Why else would I want the beautiful Kitty Jones snuggled up beside me?) Using my shoulder as a pillow, she slept soundly.

It was times like this where I wish I could've slept, but my mind was a swirling mess. I turned the events of the day over in my head over and over throughout the night, like an insomniac baker kneading dough.

First, the information Jess had carelessly slipped to me earlier. They were planning to gather people with magical resilience or ability throughout the country, gather numbers and then 'overthrow' the magicians. They didn't know when they were going to attack, but with all the unrest in the country, it couldn't be too far off. She'd mentioned at a 'massive underground network' but had also said that they weren't yet united in their efforts. No doubt because of the constant vigilance and threat of the night police. I hoped this information would be what my master was looking for, if not, he could go and boil his head.

Second, the information I had received from Kitty a few hours previous. She had told me briefly of her plans, which involved leaving to Prague to meet Jakob Hyrnek.

She'd also told me about Peanut's real name which was actually in fact (wait for it)... Alexander! I was shocked and appalled – it was far too normal a name for him.

Kitty had told me his story that evening. I was again shocked to hear that he had no parents at all, but that he'd been abandoned. Kitty told me that her and her network of friends in the commoner's alliance all looked after him. She told me about how he was stolen by the government and forced to live at the wicked magician's prison (this being my master's house, did you guess?).

"I'm assuming you've heard of the pompous brat John Mandrake?" she had asked, her voice loaded with dislike. We had both been sitting cross-legged on the muddy floor in front of the small fire, full from another delicious dinner: cheap canned chicken, a knob of sweaty cheese and some cardboard bread. I was feeling queasy and incredibly tired, but Kitty seemed wide awake. Alex was dozing in her lap, drooling contentedly onto her sleeve.

"Does anyone in this country not know him? He's saved the government twice over, the little butt kisser."

"Twice?"

"Oh, uh..." I'd completely forgotten that the amulet of Samarkand incident had been hushed up by the ministers, embarrassing as it was to have had the entirety of the British government saved by a snotty twelve year old boy. "I mean once, sorry I was thinking of the staff and the golem separately."

"Mm" she sounded thoughtful. She looked down, noticing the small pool of drool and not bothering to wipe it away. "It was the police who took him from us, but he was the one who imprisoned Alex and allowed people to experiment on him. The endless lies about the war are bad enough, but to allow an innocent child to be taken like that... who knows what they did to Alex there...It's horrific," she spoke softly. "They gave him new clothes; he was clean and well-fed when I rescued him. They were probably intending to raise him up a magician. No doubt to stop his powers from being directed against them in the future. I thought I couldn't hate magicians any more than I already did, but I was wrong."

The mood had slumped into a bitter melancholy. I had observed her closely, and to my surprise, saw an excess of moisture in her dark eyes. The way she was cradling the child to her, the emotion in her voice and the way in which Alex clung to her more than any other in the group; It was almost as if she'd become his replacement mother. I supposed in a way Kitty had. She'd found him and raised him with the other commoners, there was bound to be some maternal feelings there.

Knowing how endearing Alex could be, I found this idea rather likely.

"I'm sorry for what Mandrake did to him. He's a great kid." A great, rushing surge of want had overcome me. I had wanted to tell her that during his time with the magician, he had been well looked after and had made a deep impression on Nathaniel and I. I had wanted to tell her who I was and reassure her that everything was going to be alright. But of course, I had kept my big gop shut. My orders prevented me from any of this.

"Yeah, he is." I didn't reply, but let her contemplate. At length she spoke, "Johnny, I'll tell you a little about me, what you wanted to know earlier. You told me all about yourself today and you've earned my trust now."

Kitty had looked up into my eyes, the reflections of the campfire dancing mesmerizingly in her own. I had felt guilty at deceiving her, she was about to entrust information to Johnny Stoke, not Bartimaeus. If I'd been sitting with her in my usual Ptolemy guise, she wouldn't have revealed the smallest thing to me. I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm going to live in Prague with an old friend; I'm going to bring Alex with me. It'll be safe for him to grow up there. Then in the future, I'll come back to help in the revolution. I don't think this country will be ready for a good few years."

No guesses who this old friend was. Although a little sad at the idea of her being so far away, I wanted her and Alex to be safe. It was at this moment I knew I couldn't complete my charge. I would not drag the two of them back to Mandrake, I would let them escape – even if it cost me my life. I was half dead anyway.

I had taken her hand without thinking, pressing it firmly between my own. The depth of my sincerity was surely in my eyes as I told her, "I wish you the best of luck Kitty. Wherever you go, I'm sure you'll kick butt."

I looked up at the stars, stopping my contemplation. Breathing gently near my ears, Kitty was safe. I knew that Alex was on the other side of her, bundled up warm with Jess. I made firm my decision. I would continue to stay with them until I had to leave in two day's time, but I would not be bringing them back with me.

I would shower Nathaniel with information on the commoners scouting those with resilience, but I would not say a bean about Kitty and Alex to Nathaniel. They deserved a good life, far away, safe and sound.

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Two days later and I was preparing to leave. It was dawn of the fourth day; the sky was a pale orange to the east. Everyone was asleep, excluding Kitty who had been on watch duty for half the night. She'd seen me wander into the forest with my excuse of 'needing to stretch my legs' and remained in the campsite, dutifully listening for any signs of danger.

Of course, I wasn't lying – I was going to stretch my legs (and the rest of me) into a new form for my getaway. I stood in a small woodland clearing, suddenly wondering what they'd all do once I disappeared; I hope they wouldn't waste time trying to find me. They all had places to go, Kitty especially. We were only a mile or so away from Dover, where the ferries waited at the docks, ready to set sail with Alex and her onboard. Laura had already left us to find her family, and Matt and Jess were going to head west after Kitty and Alex left. I was meant to be going with the two of them to 'rally the forces'. I almost felt a little bad for letting them down, but what was I to do?

I was just about to launch into the sky, when Kitty emerged from the buses to my left. She was blushing profusely, and looked a mixture of angry, embarrassed and uncertain all at once. She stopped a few feet away from me, shifting her weight from one leg to another. She opened her mouth to talk but then closed it. I assumed something was troubling her.

"Are you alright?" I stepped closer to her, placing my hands on her bare arms reassuringly.

She averted her dark eyes; I could feel her heartbeat increase beneath her creamy skin. "Johnny, I... I want to tell you something before I leave today."

"What is it?"

"Well, I, I really want to tell you that I've had fun with you for the past few days, more fun than I've had in years. To you it may not seem like much but I'm really going to miss it, and I'll miss you."

Oh no, I think I could tell where this was going. I felt guilt weigh down its terrible weight on my back like a bag full of bricks. She didn't know the person she was addressing was a living lie.

She continued, gingerly placing her delicate hands on my forearms so that we were joined together, "I'm leaving, but you could always come with Alex and me."

I gazed down into Kitty's beautiful, hopeful face, not knowing how to gently let her down without hurting her. I wondered briefly if by this she meant she felt anything a little deeper, but I quickly dismissed it. It would do no good to dwell on the hidden meanings women strew about the place like seeds in a field (believe me on this one.)

"Kitty, thank you for your invitation. I don't know what to say." I laughed, bringing her a little closer towards me.

"Think of something, I need a proper answer from you." She smiled nervously, batting me on the arm.

"Kitty..." I considered my wording carefully, "I would love to come with you. But, I don't think I can. I need to be where the action is, I want to help the others and fight the magicians."

Kitty's smile faltered a little and she let out a hollow sounding laugh, tucking a loose curl behind her ear, she stepped back from me. "That's alright, I thought you'd say that."

"If circumstances were different" here I paused, realising the truth in what I was saying. "Then I would. You're good company Kitty, shame it's wasted with this lot."

"Oi. Don't let them catch you saying that." She laughed a little more genuinely.

There was a lull in the conversation, with neither of us knowing quite what to say. I absent-mindedly placed my hands behind my back. After a good few moments, she spoke up again. Her voice seemed back to usual.

"Well I should probably get back, if anyone wakes up they'll think I've been killed" I smirked a little at the casual way in which she said this. "I'll see you in a minute."

"Mm, see you." I gave her a little salute and then she was gone from the clearing. All was silent for a few moments. For the millionth time that morning I decided my choice was the right one. I wouldn't turn them in, they would both be safe far away, where nothing could harm them anymore.

A falcon departed from the woods, soaring high above the land and heading straight for London.

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End file.
